


A One Piece Thanksgiving

by WordsandWonder



Series: WordsandWonder's Holiday Fanfic Extravaganza! [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Nakama, Nakamaship, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-16 03:25:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13045506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordsandWonder/pseuds/WordsandWonder
Summary: Luffy hears about an *awesome* tradition when the Strawhats stop to restock at a new island, and can't wait to carry it on with his crew. But what will happen when Robin discovers the darker, untold story behind that tradition?Formerly the first chapter in a prompt dump for WordsandWonder's Holiday Fanfic Extravaganza!





	A One Piece Thanksgiving

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody, so turns out I really hate prompt dumps and the longer my tag list got the more irritated I became with my decision, so I'm turning the "Extravaganza" into a series! I'm so sorry that in doing so I'm losing all the lovely comments people left on different chapters, but it was bugging me too much not to break it apart. I hope you understand and enjoy the fic!

“So wait, you have a whole holiday about turkeys?”

Luffy cocked his head to the side in interested confusion. He liked birds as much as the next person, but dedicating an entire day of celebration to them seemed a bit extreme. But from the way the bar was plastered with turkey-themed decorations, he got the feeling his opinion might not be shared by the occupants of this island. Orange, red and brown paper cut outs of turkeys danced in the breeze from the fans where they hung from the ceiling. Turkey shaped flower arrangements adorned every table and the paper plates and napkins that came with his food showed cartoon versions of the fowl as well. There were even little ceramic turkey salt and pepper shakers! He’d seen some weird islands traveling with his crew, but this turkey-crazy one was something else. And now this guy was telling him the decorations were for some holiday coming up? That was an awful lot of turkey love.

The islander shook his head. “No, no, the holiday isn’t about turkeys. It’s a day when people get together and celebrate and give thanks.”

Luffy couldn’t help making a face. “For turkeys?”

“No! We’re giving thanks for the bounty of the past year. It’s a tradition that goes back to when our island was first discovered!” he explained proudly.

Robin perked up from across the table at that. “Oh? Could you elaborate on this tradition?”

“Sure! So way back over a hundred years ago, a man set sail from his home island looking for a safer, quicker route to the New World, right? But his navigation was off, and he ended up here instead! He was disappointed, but he realized that this place had a ton of natural resources, so he started spreading the word that he found this great new island. Before you know it tons of people started making their way here, but many of them were coming from islands with big cities and didn’t know anything about living off the land. That’s when the natives stepped up …”

“Natives?” Robin questioned.

“Yeah, the natives. They stepped up and helped the travelers learn to live off the land. You know, hunting, fishing, growing crops, all that stuff.”

“But I thought you said the man who was looking for the New World discovered the island?”

“Yeah, he did, but I mean, the natives were there when he discovered it. It was a bloody mess for a while too, cuz they tried to fight the settlers off. But they lost, obviously. Then a native who had learned our language helped negotiate a peace treaty, and his people started helping after that.”

“I see,” Robin said with a small frown. “Sorry to interrupt. Please continue your story.”

“Right. So at the end of the settlers’ first year living on the island with the natives’ help, they threw a big feast …”

“A feast?!” Luffy, who had lost interest in the history lesson until that point, chimed in.

“Yeah! A big feast with turkey and venison and pumpkins and corn and potatoes and all kinds of good stuff! And they sat down and had this big feast to thank the natives for helping them. So now once a year on the anniversary of that, we celebrate by throwing a big feast with our friends and families and give thanks for the blessings of the previous year. We call it Settler’s Day!”

“That’s awesome! Hey, Sanji, let's have a Settler’s Day feast!” Luffy bellowed across the bar to his cook, who winced at the volume but pointedly ignored him.

“You should!” The man encouraged. “It’s great! If you head over to the inn across the street, Chester can give you all kinds of traditional recipes, and he can tell you the best places to get the food for it. Just tell him Darren sent you and he’ll fix ya right up.”

“Yahoo! I can’t wait!” Luffy ran off to pester Sanji into visiting the inn with him, seemingly unaware of Robin’s furrowed brow.

+++

“Damnit Luffy! If you want me to make you this giant feast so bad then you have to  _ stay the hell out of my kitchen _ !” Sanji yelled, reinforcing his reprimand with a solid kick to the captain’s rubber behind.

Luffy bounced out of the galley and onto the deck of the Sunny with an unperturbed giggle, used to getting booted out of Sanji’s way (literally). He was too fired up about the Settler’s Day meal to be bothered by his ejection from the kitchen. In fact, pretty much everyone was getting excited about the celebration and had something they were looking forward to. Chopper was eager to try all the new types of desserts Sanji was whipping up, and Brook was inspired to compose new songs for the event. Nami was curious about some concoction the islanders had recommended called “orange jello salad,” and Franky had been promised that all the food options would go great with cola. Usopp had gone all out creating various decorations (mimicking what they’d seen on the island), and Zoro was just content with any excuse to drink an excessive amount of alcohol. The only crewmember who didn’t seem very interested in the proceedings was Robin. As her nakama bustled around getting things ready for the party, the archeologist simply watched, disapproval clear in her usually neutral expression.

“Okay, Robin,” Luffy finally said as he plopped down next to her. “You haven’t been excited about Settler’s Day at all since we decided to do it. What’s going on?”

The raven-haired intellectual studied Luffy quietly for a moment before responding. A part of her didn’t want to dampen the enthusiasm shining out of his features, but another part of her couldn’t just sit in silence while they carried on this tradition as it had been described to them. 

“Captain, when you were restocking and preparing for this feast back on that island, I was doing some research.”

“Yeah?” the straw-hat wearer prompted. “And?”

“And … do you remember how that man said settling that island was a “bloody mess” for a while because the natives fought back? Well, I looked into that, and he was right. The people immigrating to the island  _ took  _ the land from people who had lived there for years and spread diseases that wiped them out. Not only that, but they captured healthy people and forced them to be slaves. Remember the native who helped make peace between the settlers and the tribe that shared that first feast? He was one of the last people in his tribe who was not wiped out by an epidemic brought by the settlers, and only spoke the language because he’d been abducted to be sold into slavery. Yes, there was a time of peace between the settlers and the natives, and there was a feast celebrating a successful harvest, but the real history behind this tradition is much less innocent than that man led you to believe. The descendants of the native people of that island don’t even celebrate Settler’s Day. In fact, some of them consider it a day of mourning.”

“Really?!” Luffy demanded. “That’s terrible! How can people celebrate something like that?”

“Well, some people don’t even know the true story behind it. They’ve just been taught the settlers’ version of what happened. Other people know, but figure that’s all in the past and that there’s no reason to stop the tradition now so many years later,” Robin explained solemnly.

“Man, what are we gonna do now? Everyone worked so hard for this Settler’s Day feast, and Sanji has already started making the food; he’s been cooking for hours already.” Luffy scratched his head and frowned.

The woman nodded. “I know, and … I don’t want to ruin the celebration for everyone, but … I can’t participate in something that memorializes the beginning of a terrible history of oppression.”

“Nah, me either. I just don’t want everyone to be disappointed.” The usually grinning boy’s face screwed up in concentration as he searched for a solution.

Robin hated seeing him so torn, almost as much as she hated that she was the cause of it. “Perhaps –“

“Wait! I’ve got an idea!” he interrupted, his smile back in full, brilliant force. “Forget stupid Settler’s Day! We’re gonna make our  _ own _ holiday!”

“Our own holiday?” the archeologist inquired.

“Yeah! I just decided! If those bastards can make up a holiday we can too, right?”

“I suppose-“

“And anyway, we’re pirates! So even if they  _ didn’t _ make one up, we still could because we do what we  _ want _ . So we’re gonna still eat lots of delicious food and have cool decorations, except maybe not so many turkeys, cuz I still think that’s weird, and … and we’re still gonna be thankful for stuff! But today instead of being thankful in honor of some dumb dead guys, we’re gonna be thankful in honor of ourselves! And we can do it whenever we want! We don’t even have to just do it one time a year. We can do it today, and then do it again next week, if we want!”

A small smile crept onto Robin’s face as she listened to her impassioned friend’s idea. “I think Cook-san would have something to say about doing it again a week from now, but I do think your solution is a good one.”

“Alright! I’m gonna go tell everyone!” Luffy declared before running off, literally bouncing around the ship in his excitement to spread the word. “Usopp, stop makin’ those stupid turkeys! We’re doing something different!”

+++

Heavenly smells wafted up from the glorious spread arranged neatly on the dining hall’s giant table, and it was taking every ounce of self control Luffy possessed to stop himself from digging in right away. But before they could start into this magnificent feast, there was something he wanted to do. 

“Okay, everybody, listen up! The stupid idiots back on that island used this day to celebrate their ancestors being assholes a hundred years ago. But that’s not what we’re celebrating today, cuz we’re pirates! So we’re stealing their day and making it about good stuff instead of their dumb stuff. Which means before we can eat this awesome feast, we gotta make it ours. And we’re gonna do that by all saying something we’re thankful for.”

“Anything?” Chopper asked, reluctantly dragging his gaze from the mountain of sweets toward the end of the table.

“Yup!” Luffy confirmed happily. “As long as it doesn’t have anything to do with stupid settlers.”

“Alright,” Zoro grunted after a moment of silence. “I’m thankful for booze.”

Sanji aimed a kick at the swordsman’s head, growling. “That’s bullshit, Marimo! Come up with something real or no feast for you.”

Zoro shot the cook an annoyed glare. “Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on, shit-cook,” he huffed. “I guess … aside from booze … I’m thankful for the crow’s nest, cuz I can train there and work toward my goal and still sail with all of you. Is that better, dartboard-brow?”

“Significantly,” Sanji affirmed, trying not to look impressed. He really hadn’t expected something that heartfelt from the other man. “I guess I’ll go next then. I’m thankful to travel with such gorgeous ladies as Nami-swan and Robin-chwan! And I’m glad to have found a group of people who don’t dismiss my dream of finding the All Blue.”

“I’m thankful for Robin!” Nami piped up. “For keeping me sane on this ship full of rowdy boys. And,” she added, “that we always have enough berries for what we need.”

Robin smiled gently and patted Nami’s hand. “I suppose I shall take my turn, then. I’m thankful to all of you, for saving me. And for helping me find the will to live again.”

“And I’m thankful to all of you for being my friends!” Chopper chimed.

“I’m grateful to have found a crew,” Brook announced. “It is so lovely to see friendly faces again, though, I do not have eyes. Yohoho!”

“I’m thankful for this SUPER chance to build and sail on the ship I always dreamed of!” Franky added.

“On a similar note,” Usopp stated thoughtfully, “I’d like to say I’m thankful for the Merry. She saw us through a lot, and she will never be forgotten.”

The crew nodded solemnly, all taking a moment of respect for the fallen ship. Then all eyes turned expectantly to Luffy, who stood up at the head of the table.

“I’m thankful,” he said slowly, “for you. For the things each of you brings to this crew that makes it the best crew in the entire world! I could list all the stuff you guys do and all the reasons why I’m happy to sail with you, but that would take a long time and we have delicious food to eat, so I’m just gonna say this: More than anything else, I’m thankful that you all chose to follow me, and that you’ve stayed with me. Thank you all for believing in my dream. Thank you for believing in  _ me _ .”

Everyone stared for a moment, shocked at the intensity of Luffy’s gaze as he delivered his uncharacteristically serious speech, before all of them nodded in unison. Finally, Zoro broke the silence by raising his glass. 

“To the captain,” he proclaimed. 

“To the captain,” his crewmates replied, also raising their glasses in a toast.

“To nakama,” Luffy added.

“To nakama,” they echoed.

Looking at him in that moment, Robin was reminded once again why all of these people, all so independent and strong in their own right, chose to join this silly, impulsive boy, and she couldn’t help but smile softly as she sipped her drink. Luffy caught her eye and flashed his signature thousand-watt grin.

“Shishishi! Alright everybody, enough sappiness! Let’s eat!” 


End file.
